AIDS tightens grip on US South

[Guest guest]

Quoting KD Weber <wvadreamin:

 

> ED NOTE: Is this really a surprise? See also:

> http://www-tech.mit.edu/V116/N45/hiv.45w.html;

Mutated Gene Common in Whites Discovered to Slow Effects of HIV

 

> http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/conditions/02/24/aids.vaccine/;

> http://www.aegis.com/news/suntimes/2002/ST020201.html

>

> -----

>

> AIDS tightens grip on South

> Region has 40% of U.S. cases, experts report

>

> http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0403/25aids.html

>

> By CHARLES SEABROOK

> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

>

>

> The AIDS epidemic is " drastically and quickly " increasing in the South,

> which already faces a dire shortage of resources to combat the disease,

> health officials said in a new report Thursday.

>

> " In essence, we're declaring a state of emergency in the South, " said

> Dr. Gene Copello, co-chairman of the Southern AIDS Coalition, made up of

> health officials in 14 states, including Georgia. " The AIDS epidemic is

> out of control in the South. "

>

> Georgia officials said the findings mirror the course of the epidemic in

> the state.

>

> According to the report:

>

> .. While the South represents a little more than one-third of the U.S.

> population, it accounts for 40 percent of people who have AIDS and 46

> percent of new cases. Georgia, which has 11,193 people with the disease,

> ranks seventh in the nation for the number of cases.

>

> .. Between 2000 and 2001, the estimated number of new AIDS cases in the

> South increased while other regions experienced declines or relatively

> stable levels.

>

> .. Southern cities represent 18 of the top 25 U.S. metropolitan areas

> hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. Atlanta is one of the 18.

>

> .. Seven of the states with the 10 highest AIDS rates are located in the

> South. Georgia's AIDS rate of 20.8 cases per 100,000 population is

> sixth-highest.

>

> The face of the disease, said the report, is becoming increasingly

> rural, female, heterosexual and African-American in the South. AIDS is

> appearing with alarming frequency in rural Georgia, North Carolina,

> South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama.

>

> Copello, who is also director of Florida AIDS Action in Tampa, said the

> coalition compiled the report in response to the region's rising crisis

> in AIDS and HIV infections, which cause the disease.

>

> The group called for a " bold response " at the federal, state and local

> levels for funding and providing outreach and treatment to combat the

> surging epidemic.

>

> " The resources are not available to meet the needs, " Copello said.

> " Unless some crucial steps are taken, the epidemic will get worse. We

> plan to be very loud and forceful about this. "

>

> The South is more greatly plagued by AIDS and HIV infections because of

> racial and economic differences and a conservative cultural attitude

> that interferes with attempts to halt the disease, the report said.

>

> More than half of the people with AIDS in the South are

> African-American, though only 20 percent of the region's population is

> Black. African-American men are less likely to acknowledge that they are

> in a high-risk group for AIDS and are less likely to volunteer for HIV

> testing, researchers say.

>

> Southern rural areas also have poor health care access. " In some states,

> due to limited resources, persons with HIV must become considerably ill

> before obtaining access to necessary care, " the report said.

>

> Some states, such as Georgia and North Carolina, have waiting lists for

> residents to receive expensive drugs to stave off effects of the HIV

> virus. One official said other states, including Florida, were at risk

> of the same fate.

>

> HIV/AIDS rates also are much higher in communities in which poverty is

> high and adequate housing is lacking, the report said. In addition, it

> said AIDS/HIV rates closely parallel the incidence of sexually

> transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and gonorrhea.

>

> The South, the report noted, has the highest rates for those maladies in

> the nation.

>